Gilas women’s youth grabs FIBA U-16 Division B bronze medal

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Gilas Pilipinas women’s youth national basketball team ended its 2022 FIBA Under-16 Women’s Asian Championship Division B with a third-place finish after blowing out Lebanon, 90-68.

Eager to avenge their disappointing loss to Samoa during the Division B semifinals, the young Filipina hoopers were firing from all cylinders and torched Lebanon to grab the dominant win.

The Filipinas shot an efficient percentage from the three-point area and buried 11 out of their 24 total attempts while also taking control of the assist department with a total of 26 dimes.

Gilas’ one-two punch of Kristan Yumul and Gabriella Ramos led the way for the Filipinas after combining for 40 points, 20 apiece, and were unstoppable against the Lebanese defense.

Yumul went waxing-hot from the three-point range and drained six of her eight total attempts while Ramos was a force inside the interior and bulldozed her way to a 9/15 shooting from the field.

The Gilas squad established a seven-point lead midway in the third quarter but a late explosion spearheaded a 19-6 run that put them back in a comfortable position heading into the final canto.

Gilas didn’t relax and continued to pour in the attack and ballooned the lead to 81-49 which forced Lebanon to wave the early white flag.

Naomi Panganiban continued to perform consistently for the Gilas women’s team and tallied 16 points while making a living in the free-throw line with a 10/13 shooting.

Despite failing to advance in the Division B grand finals, the Gilas women’s youth team still came out with a favorable result and exceeded expectations after a 13-year hiatus on the international stage.